I can't believe it's taken me this long to finish this. The vast majority of this chapter felt like I was pulling a boot out of thick mud.
Hopefully the next one will flow faster.
Thanks for sticking with me guys. As always, comments(not trolls) and feedback are welcome.
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Ashur's face just cleared the water. Sitting on the floor of the pool with his eyes and nose above the waterline, he still glared ominously at the two women who were grinning at him from their seats across the water. Grumbling to himself, he plotted his revenge.
"You can't still be mad," Mera complained. "We said we were sorry."
The two women had spent the first hour after he had regained consciousness sitting quietly and contritely, talking in whispers to each other as he nursed his aching head. Once his arm had started to heal, they obviously felt that their time of penance was over and had begun their gentle ribbing.
Lifting his head from the water he groused, "You're not the ones with a concussion and broken arm."
When Xakelle had chirped at them after their coupling, Ashur had been so startled that his battle instincts had made him jump to his feet. Unfortunately, his left foot had come down on the edge of a towel in such a way that it had slid out from underneath him. The leftover spray from Mera's climaxes had further lubricated the stone floor which reduced his already failing stability. The big man had fallen forward into the podium where the outside of his right upper arm had connected with one of the topmost edges and snapped on the unyielding corner. He had spun from there and only Mera's quick response had saved him from breaking his neck. Unfortunately, it didn't save him from hitting his head on the hard ground with enough force to render him unconscious.
By the time he had opened his eyes, he was sitting in the warm water again. The only saving grace in the entire matter was that he was being propped up by two soft and very pliable bodies. His companions were sitting to each side and had his arms draped over their shoulders to keep his head above water. They had both squealed and batted at his hands when he reflexively squeezed the breasts that just happened to lay under his palms.
Once he was able to sit upright on his own, Xakelle had moved to the seat behind him and used her spread legs for his support. Her breasts occasionally brushed the top of his head whenever she leaned forward to emphasize a point in her conversation with Mera.
That had been nice, but what had set him off to grumbling was when Mera informed him that she had known their hostess had been in the room and watching. The blue woman was dumbfounded that he hadn't been aware and chided him for his lack of situational awareness. When he reminded her that she was the only one he could sense, and only in the Library proper, she had apologized and moved with the maroon woman to the other side of the pool to continue their discussion.
Now, he checked his injuries again. Xakelle had told them that the water of the pool would speed his healing by giving his Library-gifted abilities a boost. Indeed, his head had cleared and stopped hurting a while ago, but his arm would take another half-hour to restore itself.
The Guardian submerged his mouth once again and listened to the very technical dialogue the ladies were having regarding enhancements for the Library. He was still learning the basics of the Lexicon and, even though he could grasp fragments of their conversation, most of what they were saying made little-to-no sense to him. The fact that Mera was occasionally stymied and had to ask for an explanation made him feel better, but not by much.
He mentally turned away from them and looked inward towards his own dilemma. Mera's reassurance of his honor and morality had helped in a few small ways, but he still felt unworthy of the responsibility they were eager to heap upon him. There was no way that he could guarantee that he wouldn't slip up somewhere and make the wrong choice. It was impossible.
And what if he did make a colossal blunder? How many lives might be affected or even ruined? He could live with hurting himself. He could even accept that his partner would get injured or maybe killed in their new calling. It wouldn't be the first time she had been on the brink of death by what she had told him.
No, what he couldn't bring himself to face was the possibility of an innocent having to suffer as a result of his mis-judgment because it wouldn't be the first time. On one of his first scout commands, he had mistaken a ramshackle, huddled group of tents for an enemy's camp in the dusk twilight and had ordered a full charge. Fortunately, an old sergeant had caught the younger soldier's mistake before the main body of Ashur's forty troops had engaged. The experienced veteran had called a halt, but for some of the inhabitants, it had been too late.
The young commander had stood and wept over the five bodies and had not let go of the child until the old sergeant pulled her lifeless form from his arms. When youthful, tear-filled eyes had looked up, they met the gauging and knowing face. "At least you'll learn from this one," the older man had gruffly remarked before walking away.
Ashur had nearly given up his command, but his determination not to make the same mistake drove him to consider each decision and order before acting on them. Even so, he wouldn't lie to himself that the possibility of another tragic accident didn't exist. For now, however, he would have to put all of that aside and trust that his more experienced partner could also be his moral guide.